DePaul Prep Scrimmages Libertyville

By Jack Lydon

A soft opening for the 2025 high school football season with the pre-season scrimmage against Libertyville High School for the 4A reigning state champion DePaul Prep Rams. They don’t keep score nor use the clock in these pre-season scrimmages so there wasn’t a winner. It was mostly just a chance to see how the new starters work together.

At times, it took on the look of a hockey game with the entire first team being substituted for the entire second team, like a line change. The game opened with the starters against the starters. Libertyville opened the game with the ball on their 40-yard line and moved right down the field aided by some sloppy tackling by the Rams. Libertyville senior running back Gavin Dickson capped off the drive with a four-yard run off the left tackle.

“We spent all week prepping for Fenwick and they gave us some looks that we know weren't prepared for. I said let’s just line up play football. Our guys responded by doing that. There were some mistakes, but mistakes that I expected and what I know are correctible if we game plan and scheme,” DePaul Prep head coach Mike Passarella. He wasn’t worried about the opening drive. The Rams throttled Libertyville for the rest of the scrimmage.

The Rams answered on the next series with a 56-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Jackson Grabinski to senior wide receiver Connor Barefield. It kind of took me back to the Coal City state semi-final playoff game. The Coal City Coalers drove the field for a touchdown which took most of the third quarter. Bing, bing, bing—the Rams and Juju Rodriguez answered with a touchdown of their own in three plays. The Rams went on to win 21-14 and advance to the 4A State Championship game.

The Rams topped Mt. Zion 40-6 to win 4A state championship. The Chicago Catholic/East Suburban Catholic Super Conference went on to win four of the eight state championships. The Rams victory was not without complaints by detractors who argued that DePaul Prep was actually a school that should have been in 6A based on its enrollment. Some truth in that but the Rams didn’t make the rules and played and won the games on the schedule.

It’s a whole new world now. The IHSA changed the rules and school enrollments and classification will change every year now, not every two years as it was. Based on the enrollment and the multiplier DePaul Prep’s enrollment for classification purposes is 2214. That probably puts them in the 7A classification—a move up three spots.

Adding to this change, is the significantly harder schedule. Gone are Deerfield and Amundsen. The Rams will face Fenwick and St. Ignatius, two more Chicago Catholic League teams, for an entirely CCL/ESCC Super-conference schedule. Getting to six wins and making the playoffs will be a challenge. Doubt the Rams at your peril. They tend the wins the games on the schedule whomever might appear thereon.

The Rams will be fine, 7A or not. There are a ton of kids in the program and the notoriety of a championship is drawing talent. The offensive line is big and skilled. New quarterback Jackson Grabinski looks the part and has a big, accurate arm. This might be a reach but there seems to be a culture of athletic success at DePaul Prep. Basketball, cross country, volleyball, baseball. The soccer teams are winning. Don’t be surprised if DePaul Prep makes some noise in 7A football.

Hanson Stadium Reopens

By John Montgomery

Hanson Park Stadium, more commonly known as Hanson Stadium, will never be compared to famous venues such as the Rose Bowl, Wrigley Field, Chicago Stadium or Fenway Park. But it has been a staple for sporting events since it was built in 1939, at Fullerton and Central, on Chicago’s Northwest Side.

It has been home to varsity football teams from Weber, St. Patrick, Prosser, Foreman, Steinmetz and Kelvyn Park High Schools, semi-pro football and Chicago Public League track and field championships. Built to accommodate crowds of 2,200 people, it generally hosted seven football games a week. After a thorough four-year renovation, which included new seating, locker rooms, scoreboard and press box, Hanson is back in business with the beginning of the 2025 football season.

“Hanson was their home,” said former Weber associate athletic director Mary Mitchell, recalling outstanding Red Horde teams that played there until the nearby school closed in 1999.

“Every Sunday we played at Hanson Stadium,” said former Weber football manager Gil Sanks. “The place was packed and we had tremendous teams (Prep Bowl champions) in 1961 and 1964.”

Hanson also hosted events for the Pan American Games, the Special Olympics, many city and state high school football playoff games and was the original home of the Public-Catholic All-Star Football Game.

“We are very excited,” said former Chicago Public League sports director Dave Rosengard, who spearheaded efforts to upgrade facilities at several city parks besides Hanson.

“Playing at Hanson was like playing in a college stadium,” said former St. Patrick and Notre Dame football player Dan Santucci, who also played in the NFL and now is principal at St. Patrick.

Hanson brings back fond memories to me, too. The first high school football game I ever covered for the Sun-Times was in 1984 at Hanson Stadium. It was a matchup between Bogan and Tilden. From 1984 to 2010, I covered games at Hanson for the Sun-Times and Tribune. It was fun covering two of the most competitive rivalries in the Chicago area, Gordon Tech vs. Weber and St. Patrick vs. Notre Dame.

“Hanson Stadium meant a lot to the Northwest Side schools,” said former Prosser basketball coach and athletic director John McEleney. “The beauty of Hanson was that it was not just for football.” Add soccer and girls’ flag football to the list of events that experience the new turf at Hanson. Steinmetz, which now plays football on its own field, will meet Kelvyn Park for the inaugural soccer game at Hanson.

It will be football when Foreman hosts Kelly for the first game of the 2025 season and Prosser returns by entertaining basketball powerhouse Proviso. 

The new Hanson Stadium will undoubtedly create memories for today’s young athletes.

CPL’s Hanson Stadium. Photo credit Chicago Public Schools.

John Montgomery Joins as Contributor

I am pleased and honored to announce that prep sports reporter John Montgomery is coming out of retirement and will be contributing stories to jacklydon.com during the upcoming high school sports season.

John began writing sports articles very young in 1978. He had stints at the Leader Newspapers, Learner Newspapers, Chicago Sun Times, Southtown Economist, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Bulldog Media. He has been layed up in recent years with some health issues but is coming off the DL and getting back in the game with jacklydon.com.

John is a 2004 inductee into the Chicago Public League Hall of Fame and a 2005 inductee into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. Few people have as much experience reporting in Chicago area high school sports.

His first contribution will be a story on the reopening of Hanson Stadium beginning this football season. Look for that later today.

Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout Day 1

I couldn’t wait to get over the Riverside-Brookfield High School for the annual R-B Shootout. I got there like four hours early. R-B Coach Mike Reingruber and all the folks at R-B do such a great job. It is chance for a high school basketball mid-summer overdose. I love it.

It was five straight games for me from noon to 4:45.

Kankakee v. Evanston (Benet v. Hinsdale Central)

I was very interested to see Kankakee. The Kays have the top prospect in the class of 2026 according to Prep Hoops, Lincoln Williams. I was my first chance to see him in action. Kankakee also got a recent transfer, EJ Hazelett, Jr. They are a very good-looking squad. Big. Talented. Shots fall.  

The Evanston Wildkits strolled into the gym at 11:42, a few minutes before the noon start. The Wildkits were significantly smaller than Kankakee, like everyone of their starters was shorter than the smallest Kays player. That didn’t much matter. The scrappy Kits jumped out a lead. The Kays fought back and tied at the end of regulation but Evanston won in OT.

When Kankakee dials up the intensity, they looked scary.

The great thing about R-B is one can watch two games at the same time. I couldn’t exactly cover and photography two games. But I was able to watch Benet v. Hinsdale at the same time as the Kankakee game. Benet just looked awesome. Jayden Wright is a money player.  

DePaul Prep v. Rich Township (St. Ignatius v. Rock Island)

The Rams come out hungry. Rashaun Porter was going to the hoop. It kind of looked like a fullback powering to the endzone with Shaun charging down the lane for a dunk. AJ Chamber was a comfortable as can be on the point.

Got a look at the transfer in from Sacred Heart Griffin, senior forward Zion Lee. It seemed like a little bit of a slower start for Zion than it was for the other Rams but it sure looks like he will fit right in.

Then there is returning senior Rykan Woo. The Oxford English Dictionary has a photo of Rykan as the definition of “money.” He does it all. At a stretch in the second half of the Rams’ game against Stevenson, the Rams had gone cold. Nothing was falling. The Patriots cut the double-digit lead to two. Rykan poured in two straight three pointers. Money. Rams took control.

Magnus “Gus” Johnson, Jonas’s younger brother, has stepped into his brother’s role as the other big man beside Rashaun Porter. You might not see as much of the four-guard set from the Rams this year as you did last year. But we will get plenty of three guard sets with the six-man rotation including sophomore guard Blake Choice.

Lane v. Thornton

We have a whole new set of Champions this year. Matt Szafoni returns as one of only four seniors. I counted eight sophomores on the squad. They all look talented and athletic but not quite the usual polished group of playmakers we have seen from Nick Logalbo’s teams in recent years.

The first day of R-B did not disappoint. Getting get some sleep now to be ready for Day 2.

DePaul Prep Falls to St. Patrick 1-0 in 3A Sectional Final

The DePaul Prep Rams varsity baseball team lost 1-0 to area nemesis to the St. Patrick Shamrocks at Kerry Wood Cubs Park.

The Rams opened the season 14-0 and finished 25-13. The Rams finished the season in the 3A sectional final losing to their former coach Chris Haas, the the Shamrocks’ skipper.

St. Patrick senior right hander Paddy Roth, a Michigan State commit, shut out the Rams working his way out of a couple jams.

It was a fun season. This group of Rams were always loose and having fun. My favorite kind of baseball.

It guess it’s football season now. (Except I have another group of baseball photos to post from the Northside game.)

DePaul Prep Falls to St. Ignatius 3-0 in 2A Sectional Final

[A preview of this week’s story in the Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

DePaul Prep Rams fell to the St. Ignatius Wolfpack 3-0 in the IHSA girls soccer sectional final on Friday evening at DePaul Prep. Wolfpack’s junior wing, Lauren Reed scored two goals, two minutes apart early in the first half giving the Wolfpack an commanding lead against conference rival DePaul Prep. Try as they did, the Rams (16-9-1, 5-2-1) just couldn’t put together a comeback against the stingy St. Ignatius defense.

“I was really thinking about winning this for my team and playing for my seniors. Then I guess I got really lucky on those two shots. But when I saw the opportunity take it, I did,” said River Forest resident, Lauren Reed.

Coming into the game, the Wolfpack (11-9-3, 3-3-2) focused on getting the ball into their center forward, junior Kayla Washington and so much on Reed.

“Kayla is our lead scorer. She's got like twenty-eight goals. Kayla is a classic striker. When you play with only one person up front, she has to be a big, strong capable player who can hold the ball up and wait for support,” St. Ignatius head coach Pam Whitehead said of Washington.

“Usually our goal is to get it to Kayla. I usually come up as back up. We kind of work together, but the main focus is to get it to Kayla,” Lauren Reed said of her teammate Washington.

“So I was lucky,” Reed added. She said “luck,” but two goals and two minutes is more than just luck. Reed was there to capitalize on the attention paid to Washington and that she did.

“Lauren is amazing because, first of all, she never came out of the game and absolutely she is positioned where she has to run up and down constantly,” Whitehead said of Reed, who is also a talented field hockey player. “And she is a third leading scorer [with 13 goals].” Lili Garcia is the Wolfpack’s second leading scorer with 17 goals.

DePaul Prep and St. Ignatius are both members of the Girls Catholic Athletic Conference and played each other on May 1st which ended in a 1-1 draw.

“It was our senior night. All of our seniors played. And you'll notice the [Senior Night] shirt that I wore tonight to remind them,” Whitehead said of the tie game.

Proud of her team’s rebound from the last match, Whitehead added, “It's just good combination play on the ground. I don't know if you noticed the tactical difference with DePaul. They like to send the long balls in, but we like to play between three of our key players up front with angle runs and drop balls; Good classic soccer.”

St. Ignatius managed to hold the Rams’ leading scorer junior Lucia Troutman scoreless despite early success by the Rams in pushing to the ball forward to Troutman.

DePaul Prep head coach and chair of the DePaul Prep Science Department, Kelly Keckler, was obviously disappointed after the game.

“Iggy was scouting [our last game against DeLaSalle]. They saw a lot of who we've become this season. The team that we were when we played them the first time is very different team than what we are now. . . We've figured out a lot of new tactics. We've been stronger and faster on the ball. We've been playing a lot of tougher competition throughout the whole season to gear up for this moment,” Keckler said after the game.

“No way would I've ever guessed it would be three zero. I think [Ignatius] brought their game winning boots today. It's as simple as that. We played almost same game as we played the first time we played them. I think it just came down to grit at the end of the day.”

St. Ignatius moves on to play Crystal Lake Central in the 2A super sectional on Tuesday. 

DePaul Prep Baseball Senior Night v. Prospect

This is a special group. I might write that every year but this really is a special group. I have never seen a baseball team having so much fun. Even when they were like 22-0 or something, they were loose and having fun. Still loose, still having fun. That’s what baseball is—fun. It’s in the moment. This group gets it.

I have been neglecting the website in recent weeks. The last post before today was May 3. I have actually been shooting and writing stories but the stories and photos haven’t made it to the website. I don’t know exactly what is up with that. Just a lot going on I guess. I will have to get my priorities straightened out.

I hope you like the photos.

Lane Tech Falls to Kenwood 10-9 in City Championship

[Preview of this week’s story in Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS—The Lane Tech Champions fell to the Kenwood Broncos 10-9 in the Chicago Public League’s city baseball championship on Thursday evening. The Champions dug themselves quite a whole giving up six runs in the top of the first but fought all the way back tying the game in the bottom of the sixth. The miracle comeback was to be. Kenwood’s junior righthander Josiah Patterson slammed the door in the bottom of the seventh. The Broncos are City champs for 2025.

The Broncos came out swinging in the first inning. A single, a hit batsman, another single, still another single, and another and another. Five hits to open the game before the first out was recorded. Champions’ sophomore pitcher Charlie Lust struggled giving up six earned runs on six hits and only recording one out before leaving the game. Junior pitcher Alex Delaney entered the game and walked his first batter. The next batter reached on an error before a merciful double play but an end to the carnage. Champions were down 6-0 before taking a swing.

Strangely, for those who had seen the Champions play this year and for the Champions themselves, everyone knew the game was not over. They can score but would they score enough?

“I expected us to be a little shaky to start, but I hoped we settle into the game a little quicker and we didn't do that,” said Lane Tech manager Sean Freeman.

“But I am super proud of our kids, a lot of kids and teams would have folded under those circumstances and we absolutely did not. We fought our way all the way back and had a chance to wait at the end. So I'm super proud of their effort. While it sucks to lose, it only make us better going forward.”

Fought back they did. One in the bottom of the first, second and third and then two more in the top of the fourth. Except they gave up two runs to Kenwood in the top of the second and another in the top of the fourth.

It was 9-5 with time running out as the Champions came up to bat in the bottom of the sixth. Teo Greco singled, Henry Murray singled. Jacob DeVinney walked. Conor Sullivan singled scoring Greco and Murray. 9-7. After a strike out, sophomore Miles Mazanowski, who struggled at the plate earlier in the game, battled from behind in the count, and laced a single to left scoring two runs to tie the game.

“Miles is a sophomore. It's his first time on varsity. He showed a lot of maturity. He was down 0-2 or 1-2, and he came up with a huge swing. So that says a lot about him in his future. Although he's huge, he's only fifteen, he doesn't turn sixteen till next like October,” Freeman said of Mazanowski.

One must credit the Kenwood Broncos for hanging touch and staying in the game after the long comeback of Lane. The Broncos quickly rallied. The first batter in the top of the seventh, Jimmy Downs crushed a double to deep center field over the head of Nathan Wong. Downs later scored on a clutch two out by senior Brandon Stinson to give the Broncos a 10-9 leading going into the final inning.

“It was very nerve racking,” Kenwood junior right hander Josiah Patterson said of coming back out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh.

Showing a maturity and focus well beyond his years, Patterson held the Champions. “It was just the energy for my team. They picked me up. My mindset just changed. I just hit the spots,” Patterson said.

St. Ignatius Players in First Game Against DePaul Prep

A St. Ignatius player reached out and asked about my photos of the St. Ignatius players. I didn’t originally process and post these for want of time.

DePaul Prep Slugs St. Ignatius 10-3

[a preview of next week’s Inside—Booster article.]

By Jack Lydon

Chicago, Illinois—It was a game of big hits. DePaul Prep’s junior right fielder Quinn Roberts put two into the parking lot east of Kerry Wood Cubs Field. The Rams had a total six extra base hits and dropped the St. Ignatius Wolfpack 10-3 Thursday evening. St. Ignatius’ Cam Andrews also put one over the left field fence for two runs in the top of the sixth.

The dimensions are just a little shorter than Wrigley Field at Kerry Wood Cubs Field. 363 feet in the outfield gaps and 327 down the lines.

“That's my first two home run game ever actually. That’s a good milestone right there. It's pretty fun hitting them at Kerry Wood. It's pretty deep out there,” said Roberts, who ended the game with two home runs, two walks and three runs batted in.

“So that second one of the game was my fourth of the year actually. I hit one at Providence two days ago. I just try and do my best. I try to swing hard enough, but not too hard to where it makes the coach totally angry. I just try to put them in play and see what happens from there.” Roberts ended the game with two home runs, two walks and three runs batted in.

“Quinn is gonna be great. He's playing well. He had to kick in last year as a sophomore when we got hurt. We're really experienced, even the juniors, even the younger guys. They’re experienced. They had to dig and fight in these Catholic League Blue games last year. So they know what this is about and I think it shows,” said Sam Colon, DePaul Prep’s manager, a 2014 graduate of Gordon Tech. Colon took over as head baseball coach for DePaul Prep from legendary Gordon and DePaul Prep coach Chris Haas in 2023. Colon took the Rams to the 2A State Finals in his first year at the helm and a super-sectional game last year.

Although the game ended 10-3, it started a little rough for DePaul Prep’s senior lefthander Owen Rog. Rog walked the first three batters of the game. Not to worry. He struck out the Wolfpack’s Jaiden Ponce swinging and the next hitter Ben Marasovich dutifully bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to end the innings and get Rog out of the jam.

Even with all the extra base hits, it was defense and solid pitching that secured the Rams first Chicago Catholic League Blue Division win of the season. Despite the gaudy 19-4 season record for the Rams, all four of their losses this season have come to CCL Blue rivals Brother Rice and Providence Catholic. The Catholic League is loaded with excellent baseball teams this year. Brother Rice and St. Laurence are the first and fourth ranked teams in the state by Max Preps.

The Rams turned three double plays in the game. In addition to the one in the first inning, first baseman Dylan Hecht fielded a sharp ground ball right to him, through it to shortstop Vance Kurokawa at second to fired it back to Hecht for the bang-bang 3-6-3 inning ending double play in the third.

In the top of the fifth, with a man on first, Rams’ third baseman Charles “Chuck” Pribyl fielded a ground ball, throw to second baseman Beni Espinosa who fired it down to Hecht at first for the third double play of the game.

Owen Rog pitched three innings giving up three hits and one run on four walks and three strikeouts. He was relieved by Gavin Glibowski in the fourth who finished the game giving up four hits and two runs on the aforementioned homerun by Cam Andrews. Glibowski did not walk anyone and struck out six.

The Rams continue with their difficult Catholic League schedule with another game against St. Ignatius, then IC Catholic and Mount Carmel in coming days.

Lane Tech Defeats Payton 8-3

[Preview of this week’s story in Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

The Lane Tech Champions handled the Payton Grizzlies Friday evening 8-3 at Kerry Wood Cubs Field. It was the second time the Champions defeated the Grizzlies last week. The first being Tuesday’s 11-1 win also at Kerry Wood. Freshman righthander Dodger Friedrich was on the mound for the Champions demonstrating a remarkable command of the strike-zone and considerable toughness to work himself through some rough spots.

“I thought he did a great job,” said Lane Tech’s head coach Sean Freeman of his freshman pitcher. Friedrich tossed a seven-inning complete game win giving up three earned runs on five hits, five strike-outs and only one walk. Friedrich had only ninety-one pitches of which seventy were strikes. The fourteen-year-old Friedrich improved his record to 2-1 on the season.

“Obviously, he's got good stuff for his age, but he also throws a lot of strikes. He competes well.  The pitch count was pretty low. He didn't want to come out. So I figured let's see what he is made up and see if you can finish it,” said Freeman.

The Champions helped their freshman hurler by jumping out to an early lead 2-0 lead with two runs on two hits in the top of the first before Friedrich even took the field.

In the top of the second with two out and the bases loaded, Champions’ junior catcher Jacob DeVinney crushed a bases loaded double over the left fielder’s head and off the wall to score three runs giving the Champions a five-run lead early. It would be all their young pitcher would need.

Champions’ second baseman senior Tyler Trapp was three for five with two strike-outs and scored a run improving his team leading batting average to 0.436 and an amazing 0.581 on base percentage. DeVinney had two hits. Alex Ziegler went two for four and scored a run. Zolan Whatt also when two for four and scored two runs. Max Hinojosa when two for four, scored a run and had a run-batted-in.

Friedrich worked himself out of a little trouble in the bottom of the second. Payton’s lead-off hitter junior Nick Linares singled past Lane’s Miles Mazanowski. Friedrich then hit the next batter, Payton’s senior pitcher Nathan Volkens making it first and second with nobody out. Junior Sam Merrill’s sacrifice bunt moved up the runners. Friedrich then struck out Payton’s John Seward looking. Payton’s senior outfielder Augie Rug then singled scoring the two runs. Friedrich got the next batter to end the innings and would finish the game giving up long five hits, on one walk and five strike outs.

The Champions improve their overall record to 11-6. The record is better than it looks. The Champions have only two in-state losses and those in tight games to top teams Mount Carmel and Glenbrook North. The Champions lost four games early in the season against very good out-of-state teams on a trip to a tournament in Alabama over Spring Break.

Lane continues to roll through the Chicago Public League’s Jackie Robinson North Division with a 6-0 record. So far beating Von Stueben twice, Whitney Young twice and Payton twice. Taft, Amundsen, Ogden International and Lincoln Park are still to come.  

Lane Tech Defeats Payton 11-1

My hands were so cold that I really could not work my phone and the cameras fast enough to do a good job reporting on the game. I just hadn’t planned ahead well enough to deal with the cold. So this is not a proper report on the Lane Tech’s 11-1 shellacking of Payton at Kerry Wood in five innings this afternoon.

The Champions are solid in every phase. Junior right-hander Ronan Owens pitched very well. He had nine strikeouts with one run on five hits and four walks. The defense was excellent. The Champions had 11 runs on 11 hits and 6 walks.

The Champions 10-6 records deceives the casual fan. Their losses were early in the season to very good Southern teams, and Mount Carmel. They are 5-0 in the CPL so far including two wins over Whitney Young.

There are plenty of games to go and good teams on the schedule. But Lane looks really good. Keep an eye on them. I will.

DePaul Prep Beats Leo and Improves to 13-0.

[Preview of next week’s piece in the Inside—Booster.]

By Jack Lydon

DePaul Prep is on a roll. “The boys are just humming right now. 13-0. The guys are putting good games together. Good practices. It's all coming together,” said Charlie “Chuck” Pribyl, DePaul Prep senior third baseman after the Rams 10-0 victory over Leo at Kroc Field on the far Southside.

And it came on a combined no-hitter by five DePaul Prep pitchers, Owen Rog, Garen Gutzmer, Noah Liss, Gavin Variano and Connor Egan. This is the best start to a varsity baseball season in the 11 years of DePaul Prep and is also believed to be the best start to any season in the Gordon Tech era as well.

There has also plenty of offense to go with solid pitching for the Rams on this historic streak. Pribyl lead off the scoring for the Rams in the top of the second with a two-run homerun to right center. It was the second two-run homerun for Pribyl in as many games. Chuck had a two-run walkoff homerun in Monday’s extra-inning 7-5 win over Amundsen at Kerry Wood Field.

“I think we just have a lot of fun right now. We know each other very well. So I think it’s coming together. It’s just flowing nicely right now,” Pribyl continued.

Freshman Nolan Hecht followed up Pribyl’s shot with a towering two-run homerun to right field of his own in the top of the fourth giving the Rams a 7-0 lead and putting the game out of reach.

Of the gaudy 13-0 start to the season, DePaul Prep head baseball coach and assistant athletic director Sam Colon put on a huge grin saying, “I don't really have any words to describe it. It's a really fun group.”

“These guys have put in a ton of work to prepare themselves for the season. I think a lot of the hard work is definitely showing now. It's high school baseball. We're gonna catch a loss at some point. So I think it's a little special group. It's fun.”

This historic start for the Rams is just that—a start. The Rams now head into the meat of their schedule with upcoming games against Chicago Catholic League Blue Division rivals including perennial powerhouse teams, Brother Rice, Mount Carmel, Loyola and Providence Catholic, not to mention St. Rita, St. Laurence and DeLaSalle.

“It doesn't worry me. We’re well prepared, well coached and I think we can attack anything that comes our way,” Pribyl said of the approaching tough stretch in the schedule.

Skipper Colon was a little more circumspect when it came to the 13-0 record and upcoming conference play. “It's ok. [The players] know. We talk about it as a team. None of this matters unless you're the last one standing at the end. These wins are great and all but come [the playoffs] is when we want to rattle off seven in a row. That’s what matters most.”

The sports programs at DePaul Prep has achieved remarkable success after its transformation from Gordon Tech in 2014. The basketball team has won three straight state championships in basketball. The football team won a state championship in the fall. The girls’ volleyball team took fourth in the state in the fall. As a well as the state finals appearances of boys’ and girls’ cross country teams in the last couple years.

“It's a testament to the coaches and the kids and everybody. It takes a village to have continued success this way across the board. Our school community, our strength room and Coach [Alex] Nadolna,” Sam Colon said of the school’s successes in athletics of late.

“I have learned something different every time I go along on the ride [to a state tournament]. I've definitely taken a little bit from Coach Baum. I've taking a little bit from Coach [Passarella]. I've taken a little bit from the Coach Gajzler. How can we implement it? Obviously, they have had success. We've had success. How can we continue to find success in different ways and continue to evolve. So it's been fun. It's been fun to learn.

Dyett Wins 2A State Championship with 52-41 win over Althoff Catholic

My photos from the 2A state championship game between CPS powerhouse Dyett and Althoff Catholic from Belleville. Chicago Area teams won all for IHSA classifications: Chicago Hope Academy in 1A, Dyett in 2A, DePaul Prep in 3A and Benet Academy in 4A. Dyett was the only public school to win a state championship.

DePaul Prep Wins Third Straight State Championship

[preview of my Inside—Booster story for this week.]

By Jack Lydon

CHAMPAIGN, IL—The toughness and heart of DePaul Prep cannot be overstated. Down by nine with under six minutes to play, the Rams rallied to defeat Brother Rice 55-52 in double overtime to win their third straight state championship. This was a heavy weight boxing match between fighters that know each other well.

The game was practically a mirror image of their first meeting in January when the Brother Rice Crusaders (31-6) defeated DePaul Prep 53-52 after grabbing an early lead. The Crusaders survived a late comeback by the Rams, but just barely.

That would not happen again. With the weight of two state champions pressing down and behind 33-24 with 5:42 to play, the Rams had to dig deep. Senior leader Makai Kvamme, a veteran of the two preceding state championships, stepped up big time.

Makai was struggling. He had not scored in the game to that point. Despite getting good looks, his shots were just not falling.

At 5:42, Makai get a layup, his first points of the game. He would score 9 more in the fourth. It wasn’t just Kvamme. Porter had a bucket. With the Rams trailing 40-37 and 43 seconds on the clock, Junior guard and transfer into DePaul Rykan Woo, who was not on the prior championship teams, surely had the biggest free throw shots of his life. He made the first. He made the second. He made the third. Scored tied, going to overtime.

It would take two overtimes but the Rams would close out the win with big buckets by AJ Chambers, Rob Walls, Rashaun Porter and five more from Kvamme in the second overtime.

“That was a fist fight of heavy weights. All great whistles. They let us play. Points were at a premium. Things got loose a little in the second half,” said Rams coach Tom Kleinschmit.

“These seniors that are up here have been on the varsity for three years. They are 70 and 5 in two years. The culture was built on the guys before them,” Kleinschmidt added.

“We knew that we had experience. We wanted to use that experience to the best of our ability. We stayed poised, stayed relaxed and started pressuring them to make them turn it over. We got that result,” said junior center Rashaun Porter.

“When we took the program over [in 2013], we had two goals: win the [Chicago Catholic] League and win the state championship. We hadn’t won a league game in five years and people looked at us like ‘ya, whatever.’ We attained one of the goals and won the League. Now we’ve won a championship,” said Kleinschmidt.

It’s three championships now actually. The Rams defeated Bloomington Central Catholic 65-41 in 2023 to win 2A. Last year they defeated Chicago Catholic League rival Mount Carmel 49-41 to win their second state championship in a row, that time in 3A. It will have to be said that the DePaul Prep Rams have entered the rarified air of multiple consecutive championships in IHSA history.   

“We are a defensive culture team that can score now. We talked about leaning on our experience. We certainly did that tonight,” concluded Coach Kleinschmidt.

Seventh ranked Brother Rice Crusaders were as tough a team as the Rams faced all year. And the Rams played a tremendously difficult schedule. Brother Rice has put together an impressive string of their own with three consecutive 30-win seasons. It was their first appearance in the State Tournament since 2005.

Chicago Catholic League Lawless Player of the Year, Crusaders senior guard Marcos Gonzales lead all scorers in the game with 24 points. Senior forward K. J. Morris had 11 points for Brother Rice. Senior guard Jack Weigus added 10 points.

It was a total team effort for the Rams, offensively as well as defensively. Kvamme lead the team with 16 points, all coming in the fourth quarter and the overtime periods. Rashaun Porter added 14 despite suffering injured fingers. Rob Walls and Rykan Woo had 7 each. AJ Chambers had 5. Jonas Johnson and Gus Donohue each added a three-pointer. The Rams had 10 steals and only 9 turnovers.

DePaul Prep Advances to Third Straight Title Game

By Jack Lydon

The DePaul Prep Rams (32-4), Chicago Catholic League Champs, defending state champs defeated the Glenwood High School Titans, from Chatham, Illinois, 39-25. The Rams advance to their third straight IHSA title game against Brother Rice at 6:00 p.m. tomorrow.

Please forgive me for not doing a complete story about the game. I shot three games yesterday. I have spend the last 24 hours working on getting the photos right. Photography at this state tournament level shooting demands a lot of attention. There is good light and a lot at stake so I need to concentrate on that.

Going into the Finals I planned to concentrate on blog posting. It didn’t work out that way. I largely neglected the writing and blog posting even though I planned to do more of that. It just didn’t work out. I found that I basically can’t do both. It’s time consuming enough to write a proper news story about a game that I shot.

These are my photos from the game.

Some shots I worked up for Mike Clark from the St. Pat's v. Brother Rice Game

Brother Rice defeated the Shamrocks 48-33 and advances to play DePaul Prep in the 3A title game tomorrow at 6:00 p.m., in Champaign.

Dyett Defeat Manuel 56-50 to Advance to 2A Championship Game

I shot the second 2A semi-final between CPS’s Dyett Eagles and the Peoria Manuel Rams. Dyett played well and defeated Peoria Manuel 56-50 to advance to play the impressive Belleville Althoff Catholic team in the 2A state final.

Chicago's Christ the King Takes on Althoff Catholic in 2A Semi

By Jack Lydon

The Christ the King (26-9)) getting ready take on Althoff Catholic (Belleville) (30-5) in the IHSA 2A Semi-final.

Christ the King College Preparatory School is a co-ed Jesuit “Cristo Rey Network” affiliated Catholic school in Chicago’s Westside Austin neighborhood. Christ the King opened in 2008. This is CTK’s first trip to any state The current IHSA enrollment figure is 371. First regional win was 19-20. CTK lost to Latin School in last year’s Sectional Final 43-42.

The Gladiators play a 2A schedule but defeated 4A Waukegan 62-58 in December.

Althoff Catholic from Belleville has an enrollment of 312 (IHSA enrollment is listed as 288) and won the 3A state championship over Lincoln-Way West in 2016. Altholff has a player, senior guard Dierre Hill, who is reputed to be the top high school football player in Illinois. Keep an eye on him, no. 22.

Update:

At half, Althoff Catholic leads Christ the King 30-17. Late second quarter charge by Althoff grabbed a thirteen point lead. Crusaders hit threes and scored in transition. Gladiators turning the ball over.

Blog Posts and DePaul Prep's 3A Semi-final Opponent Glenwood

By Jack Lydon

I think I am finding my voice when it comes to blog posts. The blog on my website usually just contains galleries of photos from games and events I cover with some explanation. I also post my news articles that appear in the Inside—Booster.

Starting tomorrow, I am going to post news related items from the IHSA boys basketball playoffs that the U. of I. State Farm Center in Champaign in more of a first person blog format. I hope to do it in as close to real time as I can for games that I am not photographing. Tomorrow are the 1A, 2A and 3A semi-finals.

We have six Chicago area teams in playing tomorrow: Chicago Hope, Christ the King, Dyett, Brother Rice, DePaul Prep and St. Patrick. So I will post what I can as I watch the games. But I will probably be photographing the 3A games with just the usually Twitter/X score updates.

Here is some stuff DePaul Prep’s opponent, Glenwood. The Rams take on Glenwood in tomorrow’s 3A sem-final starting at 8:15 p.m.

The Glenwood Titan (24-9), with an enrollment listed by the IHSA as 1,466, are from the Central State Eight conference where they finished fourth behind MacArthur (3A in Decatur), Springfield (3A) and Lanphier (3A from Springfield). All of those schools were in the same sectional that the #3 seed Glenwood won.

The Glenwood starters are senior guard Cameron Appenzeller, senior guard Gavin Simmons, junior forward Jack Kurman, senior forward Mason Neumann and senior forward Jonathon Helm.

Glenwood’s leader scorer is Appenzeller followed closely by Helm. Based upon the games played, it looks like their starters get almost all of the playing time with the only bench player getting significant playing time being junior guard Brody Green.

Knowledgeable high school basketball commentator Big Tim Shabazz suggests in his blog that Glenwood’s size could give DePaul Prep some trouble. Check that out at Big Tim’s blog. Click here to read it.

Michael O’Brien reported this afternoon in the “No Shot Clock” podcast that the Glenwood’s Cameron Appenzeller is a 6’5” lefty pitcher who might be a first-round draft pick in the Major League Baseball draft. So that’s something. Must be quite an athlete.

Appenzeller does not show up in the PrepHoops.com rankings of Class 2025 basketball players. I am guessing that is because he probably plays baseball and not club basketball in the off-season, so he is not on that radar.

Chatham (Glenwood) team photo as appears on the IHSA website.